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Had a lovely birthday gift on Sunday when I found out that Until Forgiveness Comes is on the Million Writers Award list of 2008’s notable fiction. As previously stated, this award seeks to highlight and celebrate online fiction in all genres, not just SF/F. I join 3 of my fellow Altered Fluidians on the list — 2 others from Strange Horizons! SH obviously liked us last year. Also, fellow Black Bean Meghan McCarron. And a large number of writers I am pleased to call my friends. I know tons of talented people!

On May 15th a shorter list of 10 stories (picked by the award administrator) will battle it out to see who can claim best story of the year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will be on that list.

Even if I’m not, I am super, super excited to be on the long list. Yay!

The purpose of the storySouth Million Writers Award is to honor and promote the best fiction published in online literary journals and magazines during 2008. …this year there will be three cash prizes: $500 for the overall winner, $200 for the runner-up, and $100 for the honorable mention/third place.

I am going to nominate some stories (yes, I’ll tell you which when I know), but I am shameless and want people to nominate my 2008 story, Until Forgiveness Comes, as well. Here’s the link to do so IF you desire. Obviously, I shall not force you. ;)

K. Tempest Bradford offers an interesting look at the effects of continually reflecting on national tragedy in “Until Forgiveness Comes,” but the story is a little too ambitious for its length. Set in a fictional world with very direct real world analogies (setting it in the real world would have strengthened the gut level emotional response), Bradford questions the reasons people have for needing to remember and the methods in which they remember. Told within the unnecessary framing device of a radio report, the ghosts of the victims of an al-Qaida-esque terrorist attack reappear each year on the anniversary of the attacks when a memorial service, haitai, is held in their memory. The piece looks at the individuals who come to see their loved ones in their final moments. Unfortunately, given its brevity, and the mock radio reportage, Bradford can’t fully explore any of the issues she raises, leaving the piece an interesting one, but not one that fulfills its potential.

Ah well. But! I am glad they reviewed it. I need to create a reviews section for this story, methinks.

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“Perhaps I’m a little weird in that the facts of the story—a terrorist attack and the discourse over how it should be remembered—pale in comparison to my interest in the form of the story. Bradford has an excellent grasp of the rhythm of an NPR segment (down to the reporter, with a name suspiciously and whimsically similar to the “musical” Sylvia Poggioli), to the point where I could easily hear the ever-present, but rarely informitive ambient sound that would accompany the piece. Made me tear up at work, which makes it memorable.”

Because of several factors, I did not mention that I was going to be on Hour of the Wolf this morning. For those of you who don’t know, HotW is a local radio talk show dealing with all things SF/F/H hosted by the fabulous Jim Freund. Thing is, it airs at 5am on Saturdays. So that means I had to be up at 3am. This is my 3am face:

I look excited, right? The show itself was a lot of fun, though. We talked about Clarion West and writers I like and Carl Brandon Society and Star Trek and stories I have coming out. That’s this first part here:

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(this will open an inline player)

Then I read Until Forgiveness Comes and then we talked a bit about 9/11 and then I took some calls. I took calls! That’s the second part:

Click to Listen

You can also listen to the show online via WBAI’s streaming. The MP3s I have don’t include the music he played for copyright reasons.

I should mention that I’ve been on Hour of the Wolf before, but always with my writing group, Altered Fluid. If you want to listen to our appearances, check out these links:

Despite making my 3AM Face, I had a really great time and don’t regret a second of it. Jim says he’d love to have me on again and I am all for that. We also had some pre-thoughts about things we could do with Until Forgiveness Comes that are even more radio-y. Excting!